I know I’ve been quieter than usual of late.  There’ve been a few things going on, least of which is my job and trying to balance it with family time and the like.

Because certainly, as parents of a special needs child, it’s always busy.  The Monster has various therapies three days a week, plus my having PCAB meetings, late-night meetings, the wife having her life as well…

And then I’ll be disappearing for a few days starting on Thursday.

I talk a lot about how you have to find other things to be doing with your life – that you can’t concentrate wholly on your kids, special-needs or no – or you’re going to go CrAzY.  And as many of you know, either from knowing me in real life or from hearing it from me on here, my release offline is to go curling.

Next Thursday, I’m traveling to Québec to participate in the Winter World Master Games.  (Which means I’m going to not be blogging – at all – for a week after Wednesday.) Part and parcel of being part of this team means we’re getting uniforms.  So each of us was allowed to solicit sponsors or suggest things to add to the uniform beyond our national federation’s emblem and our names…

My contribution was the ask that all four members of our team have Autism Awareness ribbons on our sleeves.

Now, it’s minor and kind of silly, perhaps, but… I’m not wearing my usual sweatshirt while we’re playing there.  (I have a ‘Life Life Loud for Autism’ sweatshirt from Sevenly that I wear when I’m curling at my home club.)  And it’s important to me to have it where people can see it, can think about it, and realize that it’s not some nebulous thing that Other People deal with.

Now I’ll just have to figure how to talk about it in the various languages during the competition if anyone asks…